The Great Bridge
Subtitle: the epic story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge
By: David McCullough
Edition: Hardcover ed.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New York, USA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 605
ISBN-13: 9781451683233
Subjects: Brooklyn Bridge (New York, N.Y.); History
Description: "The dramatic and enthralling story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, the world’s longest suspension bridge at the time, a tale of greed, corruption, and obstruction but also of optimism, heroism, and determination, told by master historian David McCullough. This monumental book is the enthralling story of one of the greatest events in our nation’s history, during the Age of Optimism—a period when Americans were convinced in their hearts that all things were possible. In the years around 1870, when the project was first undertaken, the concept of building an unprecedented bridge to span the East River between the great cities of Manhattan and Brooklyn required a vision and determination comparable to that which went into the building of the great cathedrals. Throughout the fourteen years of its construction, the odds against the successful completion of the bridge seemed staggering. Bodies were crushed and broken, lives lost, political empires fell, and surges of public emotion constantly threatened the project. But this is not merely the saga of an engineering miracle; it is a sweeping narrative of the social climate of the time and of the heroes and rascals who had a hand in either constructing or exploiting the surpassing enterprise."--
Notes: Originally published: New York : Simon and Schuster, 1972; reprinted with new preface by the author.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Part one. The Plan; title: Man of Iron; title: The Genuine Language of America; title: Father and Son; title: Brooklyn; title: The Proper Person to See; title: The Chief Engineer; title: Part two. All According to Plan; title: Down in the Caisson; title: Picture Section; title: Fire; title: The Past Catches Up; title: How Natural, Right, and Proper; title: The Mysterious Disorder; title: The Heroic Mode; title: Part three. At the Halfway Mark; title: Spirits of 76; title: A Perfect Pandemonium; title: Number 8, Birmingham Gauge; title: The Gigantic Spinning Machine; title: Wire Fraud; title: Emily; title: The Man in the Window; title: And Yet the Bridge Is Beautiful; title: The People's Day; title: Epilogue; title: Appendix.